By Alice Altbaum, University of Puget Sound
Photos by Aaron Richards, University of Vermont
(Team Aguila)
For our final research expedition of the semester, Team Aguila spent 2 weeks in a magical little town called Puerto Edén. Our team traveled for two days by both car and boat to reach the town, located on the western side of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, deep within the remote fjords of Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. The Chilean government officially created Puerto Edén in 1969 to serve as a naval outpost, extractive community, and as a site for relocation of of indigenous Kawaesqar and Mapuche people. During the 1990s, Puerto Edén’s population peaked at approximately 600 residents, but currently the town is undergoing a migration process and only 62 established residents remain. We spent our two weeks getting to know local residents, listening to their stories and sharing meals with them. In addition, we undertook a multi-day trek to Pio Xl glacier, testing the possible route for a future tourism trail. We hoped to utilize what we have learned through our coursework over the semester to understand the unique natural history of the town and examine its place within the larger conservation of Southern Chile.
Puerto Edén
On March 14, our second day after arriving, we embarked on a four-day expedition from Puerto Edén to Pío XI glacier. Our journey began in Puerto Edén via boat. Don Juan and Rodrigo, local residents of Puerto Edén, drove us for approximately two hours in driving rain. We disembarked in an unmarked area within the park, prepared with five days of supplies and a GPS route. We searched for a natural river crossing and made our way through dense evergreen forest. We camped for the night on a high boggy area under clear skies. Much to our surprise we awoke to sunshine and clear skies the following morning.
During our second day on trail, we took on another river crossing, and then regained elevation by making switchbacks up moss-covered and rocky inclines. We crossed alpine bogs full off a huge diversity of animal and plant species. After we traveled for approximately eight kilometers during the day, meandering our way around forests and sharp cliffs we stopped at our third campsite overlooking the lake.
Team Águila explores the endless ridges of the fjords.
On day three we emerged from our sleeping bags to enjoy hot drinks and an incredible sunrise over the Bahia Elizabeth. We packed up camp and prepared for a full day of hiking. After several hours climbing through scrubland and cliffy bog we reached the top of the ridgeline. For five or six ours we zigzagged the ridge, catching glimpses of the glacier in the distance.
The Jekcal awaits Team Águila in Bahía Elizabeth.
On the fourth and final day, we descended and reunited with Don Juan at the shoreline of Bahia Elizabeth. We hopped aboard his vessel enjoying dry socks and warm soup while we traveled to Pio XI. During this short trip we were greeted with an incredible view of Chilean dolphins and the discovery of a beached whale skeleton.
Dead whales have been washing up on the shores surrounding Puerto Edén all too frequently in the last few years – an environmental mystery with many ominous theories.
Julie Hamilton (UNH) explores the cracks and crevasses of the Pio XI Glacier, named after Pope Pius the 11th.
An incredible highlight from our four day trip outside of the town was our visit to Glaciar Pio Xl. It’s the largest glacier in South America, and the only one still advancing of the nearly 100 major glaciers of the Southern Ice Field now slowly melting away. We approached the glacier by boat and had the opportunity to go ashore exploring, and hiking up to the mirador. We sat with an incredible view of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, feasting on peanut butter and crackers, while listening to the thunderous cracks as large portions of ice detached from the glacier. As the evening approached we settled back on to Juan’s boat for our five-hour journey to our campsite at a cholgero shelter on the shore of the fjords, where one of Puerto Eden’s former residents once smoked mussels to dry and export. Sitting atop Juan’s boat we marveled at the sunset and a large pod of dolphins playing alongside the boat. We spent our final morning on the boat, slowly winding our way through the fjords to return to Puerto Edén.
Back in the village we spent our time getting to know the residents and completing academic coursework. The town is experiencing economic decline due to environmental and social factors, leaving residents searching new forms of income, turning to a possible future of tourism. Puerto Edén’s natural biodiversity and unique location gives the villagers potential opportunities that few other places can match. Our exploration of a future land route to the Pio XI Glacier was quite difficult and made a marked impact in some of the more sensitive habitats, so we would recommend the people here invest in establishing a sea-route for kayakers or to develop a tourism package including going crabbing, processing mussels, and learning how to do artisanal craft making.
The last remaining members of the Kawesqar people reside here and offer a unique opportunity for educational and cultural tourism. By spending time learning about residents’ livelihoods and the local industry we hoped to understand the viability of the town’s economic and cultural future. The local residents of Puerto Edén were incredibly welcoming, viting students to students join them for meals, help paint boats, and partake in fishing excursions. We spent many afternoons playing soccer with local kids, and spending one morning working with local school students. Three students joined Álvaro for a full-day crabbing adventure, only to return and enjoy a homemade dinner after a hard day’s work. Throughout our two weeks in Puerto Edén we had countless opportunities to learn about the area’s natural history and experience its extensive biodiversity through backcountry travel and participation in daily activities. The trip provided a wonderful capstone to our semester’s exploration of conservation in Chile.
